The Polk County Sheriff's Office announced this Tuesday at a press conference the discovery in the Trinity River of the body of Audrii Cunningham, the 11-year-old girl who disappeared in Livingston, 80 miles north of Houston (Texas) last Thursday. .
The cause of death has not yet been determined, according to local police.
Audrii Cunningham.Polk County Sheriff's Office.
The girl was last seen alive near her home at 7 a.m. (local time) on Thursday.
She was supposed to take a bus, but police said she did not board the bus or go to school that day.
A neighbor identified as Don Steven McDougal, 42, was arrested on Friday accused of aggravated assault in a case not linked to the disappearance of the minor.
The Sheriff's Office indicated, however, that he was
“a person of interest” in the case, according to NBC News, sister network of Noticias Telemundo.
The Polk County District Attorney indicated at Tuesday's press conference that they are preparing an arrest warrant for Don Steven McDougal for murder in the girl's death.
McDougal admitted to leaving the house with the minor on Thursday morning, according to local NBC News, but did not clarify whether or not the girl got on the school bus.
"She agreed to work with us and took us to some places," the Sheriff's Office told the station.
McDougal admitted to leaving the house with the minor on Thursday morning, according to local NBC News, but did not clarify whether or not the girl got on the school bus.
“She agreed to collaborate with us and took us to some places,” the Sheriff's Office told the station without providing further details.
McDougal lived in a mobile home behind the girl's father and grandmother's house, and sometimes took her to the bus stop or to school.
"He was a family friend, a friend of the father, who allowed him to live in a trailer behind the house, the Sheriff's Office told the local station. He had a long criminal history, the station said, including a charge linked to a minor.